I've been working on some analog sketching recently especially forcing myself to practice some marker work. This is the most I've done with them to date but I had a lot of fun experimenting with them.

These sketches were replies to Weekly Design Challenges on Instagram @weeklydesignchallenge for a hand mixer and hammer design.They do weekly subjects and repost some of their favorite submissions and it's been a lot of fun to see the sketches everyone comes up with!

Hey everyone, quick update, I just moved to Chicago where I'm going to be enrolled in the Master of Design in Industrial Design Program at University of Illinois at Chicago aka UIC starting in a few weeks. Totally excited, I can't wait! Huge thanks to all of you who contributed to this journey and help me on to this path, I'm very grateful!!

Now that the move is complete (phew) I'm getting back to sketching so here are a few of the latest.

A ring flashlight/lantern for the backpacking crew, cast in magnesium to make it lightweight and so you could use it as a fire starter in an emergency by cutting a few magnesium shavings off the body.
A friendly, bedside table designed without corners to save your arms or head from to hitting a sharp corner while you sleep.

Hi everyone, design school has been amazing and really busy, but in the best way. I wanted to share some of the sketches from SQ1CON at UIC in Chicago. I learned so much from this weekend, too much to summarize, but I wanted to focus on 2 things I took away from the conference.

1. Aspire to design everything, even if you're not an expert in the specific industry.
2. Don't limit yourself to sketching things you like, sketch things you're not comfortable with.

With this in mind, here are some first attempts at Architecture and Footwear design. I'm a little embarrassed that this is the first time I've tried sketching these topics but I want to document them here and improve.

Good work with sketching outside of your comfort zone. Cars can be a difficult thing to draw (I still can't draw them), but I've heard that sketching them will make you better at sketching everything, so keep it up!

I'd like to see you clean up the line quality on these. It feels like you've drawn each line slowly and carefully which makes it look scratchy. Try to draw long flowing lines from your elbow and keep your wrist stiff, even if the line doesn't end up where you wanted it. You can always draw it again.

Also have a think about what details you're trying to show with each sketch, and choose a perspective that emphasises it.

Andy, thanks for the feedback. Yeah cars were something I've been afraid to start because they're such a complex thing to draw. It's getting a bit easier but they're tough!

Ralph, thank you that's a really good point. I think I need to take a look back at How to Draw by Scott Robertson for a perspective refresher. I haven't looked back at it since I started this thread. I'm hoping now that I have been practicing I should be able to understand and digest much more about perspective.

Are you using an underlay? It might help to choose a few images with perspectives that you like, trace a box over the top with proportion marks for wheels etc and use that as an underlay to define your own sketches. Tracing and using underlays isn't cheating, it's about efficiently communicating your ideas.

Overlays are indispensable in the design process, especially when working on details and how they can interact with the overall line flow, stance and proportioning. We do hundreds of them for one vehicle.

I developed a simple DIY Lightbox, simply light it with some LEDs or your phone and you are ready to trace your sketches.

Great job tackling this aerodynamic territory! Even when drawing people these days I still draw in a basic skeleton/block foundation. I imagine with cars it's the easiest thing to do compared to the rest of the car. At least you'll have proportions going for you and people can critique the rest!